volleysparkle Makeup

The EcoTools Tapered Blush Brush is a fan shaped blush brush. It has a bamboo handle, recycled aluminum ferrule and synthetic bristles. As suggested in the name, the Tapered Blush Brush is tapered, making the brush wide and flat on the front and back and thin on the sides. The brush's shape set it apart from most other blush brushes and gives it many uses. I use the flat part of the brush to apply blush and I use the top of the brush for both highlight and contour. The bristles are not too dense which allows it to effortlessly blend out any cheek product.

The Nyx Simply Nude Lip Cream in Fairest is a light peachy pink nude with a slightly matte cream finish.

Nyx Fairest Simply Nude Lip Cream

The Simply Lip Creams have a classic jumbo lip pencil packaging that twists up at the bottom. Fairest is very pigmented and is much more like a lipstick than a lip stain. Although it's a nude, Fairest does not need any building up at all to achieve an opaque look on the lips. Because of this, you would probably need to be careful while during application. It can also accentuate if you have dry lips, which has been a problem for me lately. Fairest provides a lot of moisture to the lips and feels slightly slippery, which makes it have a comfortable wear, but not a super long one. Unlike many jumbo lip pencils, these do not have a scent.

The Milani Bella Eyes Gel Powder Shadow in Bella Mandarin is a light orange shadow with a Satin Matte finish.

Milani Bella Mandarin Bella Eyes Gel Powder Shadow

The Bella Eyes Gel Powder Shadows come in a small gold compact that looks just like the Milani Baked Blushes. Despite being called a "Gel Powder Shadow" the Bella Eyes Shadows feel just like a powder and do not have a squishy feel whatsoever. Bella Mandarin has a soft texture and is very pigmented, it doesn't need to be built up at all. It does look pretty matte, but it has the slightest bit of a sheen. I know orange shadow isn't for everyone, but I love all kinds of warm peachy shades, and since I have blue eyes, orange compliments them, and I like using orangey colors in the crease.

The Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner in Black Brown is a dark brown liquid liner with a matte finish. It has classic liquid liner packaging with a brown lid.

Revlon Black Brown Colorstay Liquid Liner

The applicator of the ColorStay Liquid Liner is short and pretty stiff, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your preference. I first tried the ColorStay Liquid Liner (in black) almost a year ago and was not a fan of it at first, but as I kept using it, I found it to be easier to work with it and I actually like it now. This liquid liner creates a pretty opaque line and doesn't need to be layered over to get a nice, crisp line. As far as the color goes, it is a pretty dark brown, so it's only slightly less harsh than black, and you probably wouldn't be able to see that it's brown unless you are really paying attention and looking at it up close. It doesn't claim to be, but this liner is not water resistant and will fade and possibly smear if it gets wet. I've never had an issue with it on my lids, but the swatch on my arm came off very easily with just a bit of water.

Coconut Milk is gluten, paraben, phthalate and petrolatum free, in addition to being 99% natural. The lip balm is made of various oils (including coconut oil) and shea butter and also contains antioxidant vitamins C and E. I really like EOS lip balms and Coconut Milk is just as good as the rest of the line. It feels very moisturizing on the lips, but isn't too thick. The moisture doesn't last for the longest time, but I have no problem needing to reapply lip balm. As weird as this might seem, the scent of this EOS reminds me a lot of coconut frozen yogurt.

The Nyx Butter Gloss in Madeleine is a warm tan gloss with no shimmer or glitter.

Nyx Madeleine Butter Gloss

Madeleine has the same great formula as the rest of the Butter Glosses. It is slightly thick, but doesn’t feel goopy. Madeleine provides moisture and has a very comfortable feel on the lips, since it’s not sticky at all. The Butter Glosses have great pigmentation and don’t need to be layered over a lipstick. Madeleine is a great choice for a nude lip if you are not a fan of very pale nudes. I found Madeleine to wear for about three to four hours.

The Lorac Afterglo Eye Shadow Palette contains ten colors with a variety of finishes. I bought mine on sale, and it is still on sale on Lorac's website, so if you want one, I'd buy it as soon as possible!

Lorac Afterglo Eye Shadow Palette

The Afterglo Palette comes in a bright blue compact with gold accents. Although the palette is plastic, it feels very durable and well made. It has a mirror on the lid and eight of the shadows are side-by-side and the two highlight shadows are stretched out on the bottom. None of the shadows in the palette have names, but the palette includes a matte white, shimmery pinky nude, matte dark teal, medium shimmery teal, shimmery yellow gold, shimmery orange copper, matte medium purple, matte light brown, matte coral with subtle glitter & a matte dark brown. All of the shadows have a very smooth texture, but they aren't quite as buttery as the shadows in the Pro Palettes. Most of them have very good pigmentation, and I will talk about each shadow individually. As a palette overall, I really like the color combination, you could get a fun colorful look, or an everyday neutral look with only this palette. It's also fairly compact, so it would work great for travelling.

Lorac Afterglo Eye Shadow Palette

The white shadow has a smooth texture, but it needs to be built up a little because it is on the sheer side. However, if you are looking for a white that isn't so stark and bright, this one works great. The shimmery nude pink also has a smooth texture and it has great pigmentation, the shimmery finish makes the shadow glide on to the lids. The dark teal is extremely pigmented, but unfortunately it applies a bit uneven, so it does need to be layered a bit to make the color look its best. The lighter teal has nice pigmentation and applies smoother and more even than the dark teal, since it has a shimmery finish. The yellow gold shadow feels drier than the other shades because it has a bit of glitter in it, but it is still very pigmented and applies smoothly. The orange copper has a gorgeous formula that glides on and gives off a metallic look. The purple was a bit of a let down for me, the shadow feels really smooth and it comes off on my finger very well, but it swatches really sheer (even when layered 3 times in the pictures). The light brown has a quite creamy texture and applies really well. I am really happy that this palette contains a great quality transition shade like this one. I don't think this shade is 100% matte though, it almost has the slightest bit of sheen. The coral has a buttery formula and applies very easily, the shade has some fine glitter in the pan, but I don't really notice it on the eyes. Last is the dark brown, which is just as good as the light brown. The formula is great, and like the lighter shade, it appears to have a tiny bit of sheen, but it looks pretty matte.

The Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer is a lipstick-shaped stick concealer with nude, plastic packaging and a clear lid.

Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer in Ivory

Ivory is a great match for my NW20 skin tone, but it would also probably work for someone with more of a yellow tone in their skin as well. The formula of the concealer is fairly thin, but it does provide a lot of coverage. It's not quite full coverage, but the coverage is very easy to build up and it works great for hiding blemishes or even large pores. Even though it's called Hide the Blemish, this concealer also works great under the eyes since it has a thin formula. I wore it under my eyes without setting it with a powder and did not experience creasing. The concealer is quite easy to blend out with a brush or with the fingers, and is an overall hit.

This makeup look is actually inspired by a colorful plate display that I saw in a Macy's store. I love how this look turned out, and I think it looks much more wearable than I imagined it being. I like how it looks on my blue eyes, but I think it would look especially good on brown eyes.

How To | Step by Step Picture Tutorial

Since this look is incorporating color, I went with a white cream base on my lids and lower lashline. On the lids I used the Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk and I used the Sephora Nano Liner in Pure White on the lower lashline.

Since I chose to do winged out liner for this look, I put a piece of tape extending from my lower lashline to make a sharp edge to the crease color. I used a matte burnt orange color, Fire from the Stila in the Know Palette, in the crease from the inner to outer corner and used a fluffy blending brush to make sure there were no harsh lines. On the lid I used a mix of two light blues from the Sleek Supreme iDivine Palette, leaving the inner corner open.

I always like to use a neutral color as a transition shade, even when doing colorful makeup looks. I used the shade Naked from the original Urban Decay Naked palette, a light warm brown for the transition shade.

For the inner corners I used a mix of Air from the Stila in the Know Palette and Inglot #318. I packed on a cobalt blue, the Nyx Hot Singles Shadow in Supershock over the white liner with a flat liner brush. To keep the look softer and more wearable, I used a white liner in the waterline.

Using the Revlon ColorStay Liquid Liner and the Jordana Fabuliner in Black, I finished this look off with winged liner. I also used one coat of the Urban Decay Perversion Mascara and the CK One Mascara on the top and bottom lashes.

The Nyx Simply Nude Lip Cream in Honey is a warm, somewhat peachy nude with a cream finish.

Nyx Honey Simply Nude Lip Cream

The Simply Lip Creams come in a standard jumbo lip pencil package that twists up. The product does not have a scent, which I like. Unlike many jumbo lip pencils, these are quite pigmented and remind me a lot of a lipstick. Honey glides onto the lips and feels thin, moisturizing and quite comfortable on the lips. The texture is a bit slippery so it doesn't have the longest wear, but it doesn't make the product move around or bleed outside the lips.